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Two Positive South Dakota Railroad Notes

9/16/2014

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With a new page we start with a new logo – the new logo for the Genesee and Wyoming Corporation’s Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad which began operations on June 1st.
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RCP&E’s Dynamic Duo ready for duty on the locomotive service track at Pierre, South Dakota  June 17, 2014 - Rick Mills photo/SDSRM

With rail service problems affecting rail traffic and commerce across the Upper Midwest, there are two pieces of good news for South Dakota this week.

SOUTH DAKOTA DOT RECEIVES TIGER GRANT

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Transportation has been awarded a $12 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant.

“This grant is the culmination of a lot of effort from the Department of Transportation, the Legislature and many local citizens who supported this project. Thanks also go to Sen. (John) Thune and the rest of our federal delegation for their support for the project,” says Gov. Dennis Daugaard. “Now more than ever, our state needs good rail infrastructure to move grain to out-of-state markets.”

The grant will go toward the reconstruction of a portion of the state-owned MRC Railroad between Chamberlain and Presho. The rail [line] will be improved by repairing bridges and culverts, and replacing ties on the 41.6 miles route. The longest bridge spans the Missouri River at Chamberlain. The state acquired this former Milwaukee Road line in 1980.

“We will be replacing roughly 1,300 ties per mile. We will add approximately 1,000 tons of rock per mile and fix all the bridges to be able to carry rail cars that weigh 286,000 pounds,” says Bruce Lindholm, director of the Air, Rail and Transit Division of the state DOT.

A major customer will be South Dakota Wheat Growers, who is planning a new multi-million dollar shuttle facility for grain and fertilizer shipments near Presho.

DOUBLE-DIGIT TRAFFIC GROWTH FOR GENESEE AND WYOMING

DARIEN, Conn. – Genesee & Wyoming Inc. is reportin double-digit grown in traffic volumes for August 2014.



The shortline holding company’s traffic in August 2014 was 179,184 carloads, an increase of 17,083 carloads, or 10.5 percent, compared with August 2013. G&W owns and operates 112 shortline and regional railroads in the U.S., Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Much of the growth can be attributed to the startup of the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern, which contributed 3,008 carloads of agricultural products traffic, 1,249 carloads of minerals & stone traffic, 666 carloads of chemical and plastics traffic, and 248 carloads from all other commodities. The railroad began operation June 1, 2014, and so does not have comparable numbers for 2013.


For railroads in operation in 2013, North American traffic increased 12,894 carloads in August, or 9.1 percent, primarily due to increased overhead Class I railroad shipments and increased coal, agricultural products, and mineral and stone traffic. Australian traffic decreased 982 carloads, or 4.8 percent, primarily due to decreased agricultural products traffic.



Coal and coke traffic increased 3,999 carloads, or 14.8 percent, primarily due to increased steam coal shipments in G&W’s Central and Ohio Valley regions. Minerals and stone traffic increased 2,539 carloads, or 13.1 percent, primarily due to increased shipments in the Ohio Valley, Northeast, and Central regions.
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South Dakota’s New Railroad – Welcome to the RCP&E!

6/9/2014

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June 1, 2014, marked the first day of operations of South Dakota’s newest railroad – the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad. The new company’s corporate offices are located in Rapid City – the base from which the railroad will operate over 650 miles of former C&NW/DM&E/CP and GN/BN trackage in South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Minnesota.

The railroad’s first repainted locomotive – the RCP&E SD40-2 number 3420, is pictured leading train HURC (Huron-Rapid City) at Owanka, South Dakota, on June 4th.
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Fuel For Thought

9/10/2012

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BNSF Expands Bakken Oil Transport Capacity to One Million Barrels per day

BNSF Railway (BNSF) announced that it has increased capacity in 2012 to enable the railroad to haul one million barrels per day out of the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Montana. This increased capacity will allow the energy industry to continue the record expansion of oil production in the Williston Basin and to ship the new production to markets throughout the U.S. It will also benefit shippers of other commodities, including agricultural products.

“Historically, oil and gas producers have used pipelines to transport crude from production to refineries and ultimately on to end users,” said John Lanigan, BNSF executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Because this shale development growth came about so quickly, there has been a shortage of pipeline capacity to deliver production from new unconventional sources to coastal refiners. BNSF has responded quickly to enable producers to move crude to the most attractive markets and secure the best prices.”

Today, through direct and interline service, ‘BNSF’s network reaches all major coastal and inland markets, and it directly serves 30 percent of U.S. refineries in 14 states. BNSF currently has 1,000 miles of rail line in the Williston Basin area and serves eight originating terminals with two more scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012. BNSF connects to 16 of the top 19 oil producing counties in Central and Western North Dakota, and five of the six oil producing counties in Eastern Montana.

“BNSF has been hauling Bakken crude out of the Williston Basin area for over five years. In that time, we have seen the volume increase nearly 7,000 percent, from 1.3 million barrels in 2008 to 88.9 million in 2012,” said Dave Garin, BNSF group vice president, Industrial Products. “We see this trend continuing and we are committed to serving this growing market now and in the future.”

BNSF has been able to achieve this increase in capacity due to increased investment, maintenance and hiring efforts.

BNSF is investing $197 million in 2012 on projects in North Dakota and Montana. Some of those projects include 2,188 miles of track surfacing, two new inspection tracks, raising track at Devil’s Lake, replacement of 121 miles of rail and about 332,000 rail ties, as well as signal upgrades and equipment acquisitions.

Since 2011, BNSF has hired more than 560 new employees to fill existing and newly created positions in North Dakota and Montana. These employees include crews to help deliver the inbound freight that supports drilling efforts and the outbound crude to destination markets throughout the U.S.

In addition to hiring new employees in the field, BNSF has also formed a dedicated Unit Energy Desk that works directly with our customers to help coordinate and plan unit train movements to and from the Williston Basin. With an expanded team, the Unit Energy Desk provides customers a single-source point of contact for their rail operations planning needs.

BNSF has also employed numerous efficiency enhancements to increase capacity on routes into and out of the Williston Basin. These include working with our customers to increase train sizes from 100 to 104 tank cars and in some cases up to 118 tank cars, adding signalization and sidings along key routes, and identifying and developing the most efficient routes.

Note from Rick Mills: I suggest that you also view this photo essay on the Bakken by photographer Travis Dewitz – http://www.dewitzphotography.com/personal-photography-projects/the-black-gold-rush-bakken-formation-oil-boom/
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The 1880 TRAIN celebrates 55 Years!

8/12/2012

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Come and help the 1880 Train’s 55th Anniversary on Saturday, August 18th! Open house at the 1880 Train from 1:00pm to 4:00pm with cake, punch and live music by the Hill City Slickers. Come over and visit the Museum before or after the party!
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Thanks to Bill Janklow

1/17/2012

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After being saved by purchase in 1980, this is the former
Milwaukee Road rail line under re-construction for
continued service in 2011 near Kimball, South Dakota.

No matter your opinion of this controversial man, Bill Janklow saved the majority of South Dakota railroading in 1980.
From TRAINS Newswire:
Bill Janklow, savior of Milwaukee Road’s South Dakota rail lines, dies
Published: January 12, 2012

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Bill Janklow, a 16-year governor of South Dakota who pushed through a sales tax that paid to save much of Milwaukee Road’s rail network in his state, has died. The controversial and brash former Republican governor was 72, and died today of brain cancer.

With most of Milwaukee’s network in the state under embargo, Janklow called the state’s legislature into special session. He tasked the body with identifying rail lines critical to the state’s infrastructure, then finding a way to purchase them. The legislature created a temporary 1 percent sales tax to fund a $25 million rail purchase program. On Nov. 13, 1980, the state purchased 760 miles of secondary trackage from Milwaukee’s trustee for $18.75 million.

In an interview with TRAINS author Jerry Huddleston prior to his cancer diagnosis, Janklow recalled how he convinced Burlington Northern President Dick Grayson to operate the lines.

“We had some BN lines in the state, and they were cripples and dead-enders. And so as we talked, I said, ‘You know, Grayson, you’re running coal trains just as fast as you can run them across North Dakota. You ought to return your cars through South Dakota.’”

After negotiations at BN’s St. Paul, Minn., headquarters, Grayson agreed to become the designated operator of the state’s newly purchased routes. The first train ran June 6, 1981. BN-operated routes included Aberdeen-Mitchell, Chamberlain-Mitchell, Canton-Mitchell, and Elk Point-Mitchell. In 2005, BN successor BNSF Railway purchased all but the Chamberlain route, and operates them to this day.

A year after BN began operating the so-called “core lines,” the state acquired 480 miles of track from Ortonville, Minn., to Terry, Mont., formerly part of Milwaukee’s transcontinental main line. Janklow again convinced the legislature to purchase the line, and leveraged his relationship with BN, convincing the railroad to operate the line under contract. It purchased the line outright in 1990.
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Dakota Southern rebuilding details

6/26/2011

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Here are some details on the upcoming rebuild of the upcoming Dakota Southern Railway’s ex- Milwaukee Road line between Mitchell and Chamberlain from former DS principal Alex Huff:

Bids have been let. Rail will be a mix of #2 relay 136#, 132# and 115#. Heaviest rail will be laid west of Mitchell, stepping down to 115# into Chamberlain. Material has begun to arrive, as has track machinery for the prime contractor. Contractor was expected to begin work, putting in relay 9′ x 7″ x 9″ ties with spike holes plugged, this past week. There may have been some delay due to rain the first part of the week. To my eye, the ties appear to be changeouts where concrete ties replaced wood. Two competing elevators are proposing to build 110 car shuttle facilities at Kimball. Investment will include 8,000′ turning loops, 2.5 to 3.5 million bushel elevators, etc. at an estimated cost of $26 million each. Kimball is about 40 miles west of Mitchell. Estimated carloadings is 6,000/year. Big change from 65# rail and grass track.
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On Again?

1/31/2011

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Imagine this as a coal train? An eastbound Canadian Pacific Railway
Rapid City to Huron manifest train awaits clearance to depart
Philip, South Dakota on January 18, 2011. Rick Mills photo



Canadian Pacific talks of Powder River Basin Access
January 27, 2011
(from TRAINS Magazine web site)

CALGARY, Alta. — A Canadian Pacific official said President Obama’s nod to “clean coal” technology could lead to the railroad tapping the Wyoming Powder River Basin coalfields, Toronto’s Globe & Mail has reported. CP’s Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern subsidiary holds the regulatory authority necessary to construct a new line into the basin.

“The coal market is what’s really been driving the overall business case,” said Kathryn McQuade, CP’s chief financial officer. “That’s still a work in progress.”

CP purchased DM&E for $1.48 billion in 2008, and extending the line from western South Dakota into the coalfields would likely cost an additional $6 billion. The future of coal is uncertain at best, due to potential future environmental regulations. And while Powder River coal is low in sulfur, giving it an environmental advantage over eastern coal, demand for it hasn’t grown as quickly in recent years as it has in the past.

McQuade said CP would likely only build into the basin if it found a partner willing to invest in the project. Those could include utilities, construction companies, financial institutions, or another railroad. Though it holds the permits, CP would need to acquire land and rights-of-way into the major coal mines in the basin. Currently, Union Pacific and BNSF Railway serve the mines off a jointly owned route built in the 1970s.
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